Lesson Plans and Teaching Resources for Train to Somewhere

Use Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting to strengthen your students' comprehension skills, build their vocabulary, and help them understand how words work.

This is the story of an orphan named Marianne who is riding an orphan train west from New York City at the turn of the 20th century. Marianne's mother left her at an orphanage to find a better home, and despite her promises, she hasn't returned for Marianne. Marianne longs for her mom and a new family at every stop the train makes, but she finds neither. Then, she arrives in a town named Somewhere. Use Train to Somewhere with more sophisticated readers who need practice applying strategies like making inferences, identifying author messages, and determining importance to fully comprehend text.

Explore lesson plans and activities to help you teach with Train to Somewhere in the drop down below.

Determining Importance with Train to Somewhere

The first page of Determining Importance with Train to Somewhere

Determining Importance with Train to Somewhere

With several characters and plot details, Train to Somewhere will challenge students to focus on the central character and to determine what information and events are most important to the text as a whole.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Train to Somewhere

The first page of Identifying the Author's Purpose with Train to Somewhere

Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Train to Somewhere

The meaningful message in Train to Somewhere is very clear. As a result, this book is ideal for readers who need practice identifying the author's purpose. Readers will be able to focus on identifying evidence throughout the text that supports the broader message.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Making Inferences with Train to Somewhere

The first page of Making Inferences with Train to Somewhere

Making Inferences with Train to Somewhere

This book and lesson plan work well to support readers who need additional practice making inferences to improve reading comprehension. Readers will have to connect to prior knowledge and their own experiences and observations to understand what it might have been like to be on an orphan train without a family.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Synthesizing with Train to Somewhere

The first page of Synthesizing with Train to Somewhere

Synthesizing with Train to Somewhere

Train to Somewhere is an effective anchor text for advanced readers who need work synthesizing. In this lesson, students will work to recognize the different comprehension strategies they're using to understand the main character's perspective throughout the story.
Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Vowels with Train to Somewhere

The first page of Vowels with Train to Somewhere

Vowels with Train to Somewhere

This word work lesson plan and set of teaching resources use Train to Somewhere by Eve Bunting as a springboard for instruction focused on vowels.

By anchoring word study to the text, students will benefit from seeing how r-controlled vowels are used inside of the text before engaging in both guided and independent practice with vowels.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Vocabulary Connections with Train to Somewhere

The first page of Vocabulary Connections with Train to Somewhere

Vocabulary Connections with Train to Somewhere

This set of vocabulary development resources for Train to Somewhere highlights the words that are most important for students to know and understand while reading the book. Through engaging in fun word games, matching words to definitions and pictures, and practicing how to categorize words, students will develop the vocabulary necessary to comprehend this story and many others.

Common Core State Standards Alignment
TEKS Alignment

Running Record with Train to Somewhere

Thumbnail for Running Record with Train to Somewhere

Running Record with Train to Somewhere

Use this Running Record to assess oral reading fluency with Train to Somewhere. Track meaning, structure, and visual accuracy using the first 100 words of the text to determine whether or not this book is a good fit for the readers in your classroom.

Writing with Train to Somewhere

Thumbnail for Writing with Train to Somewhere

Writing with Train to Somewhere

The BookPagez extension activities are a great way to push student engagement beyond the pages of the text. Try using this activity with early finishers, with students who show a deeper connection with the text, or as a center activity.

Determining Importance with Train to Somewhere (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Identifying the Author’s Purpose with Train to Somewhere (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Making Inferences with Train to Somewhere (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Synthesizing with Train to Somewhere (Spanish)

  • Student Practice Page and Answer Key
  • Reader's Notebook Prompt
  • Graphic Organizer

Writing with Train to Somewhere (Spanish)

Worksheet

Get Full Access to the Entire Library of Resources when You Join Today!

Unlock the potential of the books in your school and classroom libraries with lesson plans, activities, and resources expertly designed to help you meet your instructional goals
  • Teach with the best children's books
  • Always have access to new resources
  • Get access to Digial Classroom - perfect for centers
  • Finally have time to "fit it all in" with super efficient lesson plans
  • Enjoy fast planning tools and stay super organized with a personal file cabinet and dashboard
30 Day Risk-Free Guarantee, Cancel Anytime

About the Book

The cover for the book Train to Somewhere
Title: Train to Somewhere
Author: Eve Bunting
Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes: History, Adventure, Family
ISBN: 9780395713259
Publisher's Summary:
Marianne, heading west with fourteen other children on an Orphan Train, is sure her mother will show up at one of the stations along the way. When her mother left Marianne at the orphanage, hadn't she promised she'd come for her after making a new life in the West? Stop after stop goes by, and there's no sign of her mother in the crowds that come to look over the children. No one shows any interest in adopting shy, plain Marianne, either. But that's all right: She has to be free for her mother to claim her. Then the train pulls into its final stop, a town called Somewhere . . .
Content and Downloadable content Copyright ©2010-2024 Thinking Tree Enterprises, LLC. All other trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced on this site are the property of their respective owners. Please see our Terms of Use.

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
©BookPagez.com 2010 - 2023

Save BIG on Your Shortcut to Teaching through the Holidays - and Beyond

You’ve got all the books you and your students love. Now it’s time to grab the resources that make teaching with them eaiser than ever.
This weekend only, you can get a full year of BookPagez for just $29.
That means instant access to thousands of ready-to-go lesson plans and activities for your favorite children’s books at the lowest price we'll ever offer.
Hurry! Sale ends soon.

Resource Downloading disabled

Your ability to download resources is currently disabled. Please contact us at support@bookpagez.com

Oops!  It looks Like You're Getting Carried Away. 

When you joined BookPagez, you agreed to follow our Terms of Use. Based on your download activty, it looks like you've gotten carried away.

You are allowed to download resources to use in your classroom for the duration of your subscription. You are not allowed to bulk download resources. In other words, it's against the rules to download all (or most) of the resources. That's stealing, and it's not nice.

Please check your email for a message from us. Reply to the email and let us know what's going on so we can reactivate your account.
In order to continue, please indicate that you agree with the terms above

Get instant access to this resource plus thousands more when you join today.

  • Teach with the best books
  • Always have access to new resources (published every month!)
  • Get full access to Digital Classroom
  • Finally have time to "fit it all in" with super efficient lesson plans
  • Enjoy fast planning tools and stay organized with your personal file cabinet and dashboard